The money is gone – A legend in crisis

Running great Michael Johnson is trying to save his racing series with the help of billionaires.

The company responsible for the new Grand Slam track competition series run by track and field legend Michael Johnson has run out of money.

The four-race running series planned for the 2025 season was reduced to three when the Los Angeles finale scheduled for the end of June was canceled.

Johnson estimates the event’s budget at around 26 million euros. According to several US and British media outlets, the Grand Slam track competition series has been losing millions of euros.

A total of approximately 8.2 million euros in prize money was distributed across three competitions.

– It’s a sad story. It wasn’t the first time something like this has been attempted with little success. When something new is created, there should be at least two years of financial success. This time there wasn’t, says Iltalehti’s athletics expert Arto Bryggare.

– If the prizes had been halved, they would still have been tough, he adds.

The competition series was held in Kingston, Jamaica, and in Philadelphia and Miami, USA.

– The competition venues should have been thought out better. Only Philadelphia worked reasonably well.

According to Johnson, the biggest problem was the lack of interest from the public. In Finland, the TV rights for the 2025 season were held by Warner Bros. Discovery, meaning the races could be seen on the Max streaming service, among other things.

– The concept must be based on getting the media interested. Publicity and the audience are very important. When they get it going, many other things start to happen, Bryggare analyzes.

Billionaires to the rescue?

Johnson assured in a statement that the series will continue next season. He mentioned that the cancellation of the Los Angeles event was to ensure continuity for the 2026 season.

According to international media sources, Johnson’s boutique “saved” about three million euros by not competing in California.

Johnson said in an interview with Sportico that the series’ fundraising will be expanded to the 2026 season. He mentioned billionaires Richelieu Dennis and Robert F. Smith as potential new sponsors.

– If a billionaire joins, of course he is aiming for fame and financial gain. I don’t think there are any happy financiers, Bryggare says.

The main sponsor of the competition series in the 2025 season was the Winners Alliance organization.